BC Housing studying foreign ownership in real estate market: Premier Clark
VANCOUVER — Premier Christy Clark says the agency that manages and administers subsidized housing in British Columbia is studying the level of foreign investment in the real-estate market.
Housing affordability is a hot topic in Vancouver, where the rental-vacancy rate is below one per cent and the average price of a home on the west side is now more than $2.5 million.
But just how much of a role foreign investment plays in the market remains debatable, although a Finance Ministry analysis last June concluded less than five per cent of home sales in Metro Vancouver involved foreign buyers.
Clark says BC Housing has been studying the issue for more than a year but will need the help of the federal government to fully understand the data.